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Health and the Environment Journal, 2012, Vol 3. No 3
Assessment of Indoor Radon Concentration in Dwellings in Iraqi
Kurdistan Using CR-39 Dosimeters
Najeba FS* and Mohamad SJ
School of Physics,
Universiti Sains Malaysia,
11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia
*Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]
Published: 1 December 2012
___________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT: The effect of indoor radon radiation on the fertility of women living in 30 spatial dwellings in
three governorates in Iraqi Kurdistan was investigated. The radon concentrations in kitchens were measured
using 60 CR-39 detectors. The level of radiation of alpha particles was evaluated depending on the track density
of the particles. Also, the indoor radon progeny and concentration of radon varied depending on the type of
dwelling, ventilation, and geological formation. The results show that radon concentration was high in Sedakan
city and low in Dukan city. The levels of radon in the kitchen of the dwellings ranged between 99.947 Bq m-3
and 360.112 Bq m-3, with an average activity of 187.215 Bq m-3. The radon progeny concentration WL varied
between 10.805 Bq m-3 and 38.931 Bq m-3. The indoor radon levels in few dwellings were above the
recommended limits of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The distribution of indoor radon
concentration in Iraqi Kurdistan was high in many houses and this could pose a health risk or affect women
fertility.
Keywords: CR-39NTDs, dwelling, fertility of women, indoor radon, kitchen, radon concentration
Introduction
222
Radon ( Rn) is a noble, naturally radioactive gas
that originates from the decay of uranium in soils
and rocks. It is odourless, colourless, tasteless, and
requires special equipment to handle. Many factors
affect the amount of radon emitted in a house, such
as the rocks upon which the house is built upon and
the amount of soil or other materials that cover the
radon-emitting rocks. When radon is emitted from
the soil, it enters the building through openings that
permits air to flow, such as cracks within walls,
junctions between floors and ceilings, plumbing
chases, as well as chimney flues. The radon
concentration in the atmosphere varies depending
on the place, time, meteorological condition, and
height above ground (Ahmad, 2007).
The problem of indoor radon emission has attracted
considerable attention worldwide. Nationwide
radon surveys and case-control studies on the
association of residential radon with cancer risk
have been conducted in many countries. Human
exposure to radon and its daughters comprises
more than 50% of the total dose from natural
sources. Therefore, the measurement of indoor
radon is significant.
Atmospheric 222Rn concentration is directly linked
to the inhalation of its short-lived daughters, which
are deposited in respiratory organs if deeply
inhaled (Asumadu-Sakyi et al., 2011). Radon and
alpha particles have many effects on the body. The
decay products of 222Rn (t1/2 = 3.82 days) are
polonium 218 (218Po, t1/2 = 3.05 min.), lead 214
(214Pb, t1/2 = 26.8 min.), bismuth (214Bi, t1/2 = 19.7
min), and polonium 214 (214Po, t1/2 = 1.6 × 10-4 s),
as shown in (Figure 1).
In this present work, indoor radon alpha activities
were measured in houses in Iraqi Kurdistan. The
measurements were performed in kitchens because
these locations were where women spent most of
their time. Dosimetry CR-39 alpha-sensitive solidstate (SS) plastic nuclear track detectors (NTDs) in
air-filled cups were used. The use of this device is
the most reliable and time-saving procedure for
estimating the equivalent concentrations of radon
and its daughters under different environmental
conditions (Mansour et al., 2005). The health
effects of radiation on the fertility of the women
were evaluated.
Building characteristics
The studied dwellings were made of clay bricks,
cement, sand, iron, marble, mud (mixed with
wood), and concrete. Most of them were covered
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Health and the Environment Journal, 2012, Vol 3. No 3
with gypsum. Several of these materials have
significantly contributed to the indoor radon
emission. Most dwellings only had one door and
one window each. The windows were usually
closed with many not functional. The ventilation
conditions were poor (Narula et al., 2009) as there
were no exhaust fans.
CR-39 NTDs
The CR-39 technique was used to determine alpha
particles and radon concentrations. This technique
has been previously used to study indoor radon
levels in different dwellings. CR-39 SS NTD was
diglycol carbonate (C12H18O7). The NTDs
comprised rectangular films with dimensions of
about 1.5 cm2 × 1 cm2 and 700 μm thick. The
sensitivity of CR-39 enabled it to register lowenergy alpha particles (Nsiah-Akoto et al., 2011).
Chamber design
A 2.1 cm in diameter and 10.5 cm long chamber
was used. The opening of the container was
covered with a permeable cling film. The design of
this type of radon detector ensures that only radon
diffuses into the sensitive volume of the chamber,
and that all aerosols and radon decay products were
kept outside (Obed et al., 2011).
Methodology
Experimental
Indoor 222Rn concentrations in the kitchen of 30
houses were studied. The chamber technique was
used. The chamber was 2.1 cm in diameter and
10.5 cm long. A typical CR-39 dosimeter with
dimensions of 15.0 mm × 10.0 mm × 0.7 mm was
used. The physical appearances and structural
materials of the studied kitchen rooms did not
differ significantly.
Two detectors were placed inside each house (total
of 60 detectors). The detector was positioned flat at
the bottom of a plastic container and affixed with a
small piece of tape or glue. A circular hole 0.8 cm
in diameter was bored in the middle of the cover,
was closed by a thin soft sponge about 0.5 cm thick
(Mansour et al., 2005). The detector was protected
by the sponge from dust, but allows for radon gas
diffusion into the bottom of the cans. This design
ensures that all aerosols and radon decay products
are kept outside and only radon diffuses into the
sensitive volume of the chamber (Mansour et al.,
2005). All detectors were placed at a height of
about1.5 cm (Rafique et al., 2010) from the ground
of each kitchen and left undisturbed for 60 days.
Detector etching and scanning
The detectors were collected after 60 days and
separately etched with a 6.25 N NaOH solution at
70 ± 0.5 °C for eight hours to enhance the damaged
tracks (Rahmana et al., 2011). During etching, the
temperature was kept constant with an accuracy of
± 0.5 °C. The detectors were taken out from the
etching solution and immediately rinsed with
distillated water.
The track densities were then registered on the CR39 and determined using an optical microscope
(Rahmana et al., 2011). To measure the radon
concentration associated with the track density per
square centimeter, an optical microscope at 400×
magnification and 70 fields was used to scan each
detector. Before counting the tracks, the areas of
the fields of view were determined. During the
scanning process, these areas were kept constant
throughout the counting (Leghrouz et al., 2011).
Measurement of indoor radon concentration and
annual effective dose
The background was corrected prior to the
calculation of the track densities and concentrations
of indoor radon gas (in Bq/m3) as reported Saad et
al. (2010). The indoor radon concentrations
(Bq/m3) were the average value of two detector
strips. To estimate the annual effective dose
received by the population, the annual absorbed
dose was expressed in the unit mSv/y as indicated
by Sathish et al. (2008).
Cancer cases per year per million per person
(CPPP) were also determined by the conversion ion
factor for CPPP, 18 × 10-6 mSv-1·y. The radon
progeny concentration WL was calculated using a
formula in literature (Mansour et al., 2005). The
results are summarized in Table 1 and the data
analyses are shown in Figure 2 to Figure 4.
Results and discussion
Indoor radon levels can be determined by different
parameters, such as atmospheric conditions,
seasonal situations (ventilation and soil emission),
local geology, building features (type of building
material, ceiling height, and house orientation), and
the habits of the occupants. Generally, the large
variations in indoor radon activity among the
different dwellings in these localities can be
explained by the different ventilation rates, nature
of the soil underneath, and particularly, geological
considerations.
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Health and the Environment Journal, 2012, Vol 3. No 3
Figure 1: The decay products of 222Rn
Table 1: Evaluation and assessment indoor radon concentration in chicken room
in Iraqi Kurdistan region
N
Location
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Taqtaq
Koya
Khalakan
Rania
Said sadiq
Halabjay taza
Kfry
Sedakan
Takea
Shekhan
Chanchamal
Darbandikhan
Penjween
Erbil center
Bardarash
Deana
Khurmal
Zaweta
Halabjay kon
Qaladza
Arbat
Harer
Kalar
Dukan
Shaqlawa
Sharawany
Suaymania
Chwarqurna
Rawanduz
Dihuk
Age/year
41
34
25
42
41
30
28
34
33
35
45
34
42
29
36
33
31
30
47
36
35
32
27
26
32
43
38
39
27
28
Con.
(Bq/m3)
107.664
181.158
172.476
329.136
143.231
240.118
105.546
360.112
145.655
220.563
137.195
231.651
267.662
123.534
353.754
249.671
304.654
170.123
341.552
261.511
125.429
193.157
139.300
99.947
155.473
130.973
124.457
182.156
263.101
146.821
A ED
(mSvy-1)
2.7131
4.5661
4.3464
8.2942
3.6094
6.0509
2.6597
9.0748
3.6705
5.5582
3.4573
5.8376
6.7451
3.1130
8.9146
6.2917
7.6773
4.2870
8.6071
6.5909
3.1608
4.8675
3.5103
2.5186
3.9179
3.3005
3.1363
4.5903
6.6301
3.6999
WL
( m Bq/m3)
11.6393
19.5846
18.6460
35.5822
15.4844
25.9709
11.4103
38.9310
15.7464
23.8446
14.8318
25.0433
28.9364
13.3550
38.2436
26.9914
32.9355
18.3916
36.9245
28.2714
13.3436
20.8818
15.0594
10.8050
16.8078
14.1592
13.4548
19.6925
28.4433
15.8725
CPPP
(mSvy-1)
48.8358
82.1898
78.2352
149.2956
64.9692
108.9162
47.8746
163.3464
66.0690
100.0476
62.2314
105.0768
121.4118
56.0340
160.0463
113.2506
138.1914
77.1660
154.9278
118.7820
56.8944
87.6150
63.1854
45.3348
70.5222
59.4090
56.4534
82.6254
119.3418
66.5982
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Health and the Environment Journal, 2012, Vol 3. No 3
Figure 2: Relationship the annual equivalent dose of radon in the air in kitchen room
for women with location under study
Figure 3: Relationship the age for women with the concentration of radon gas
in kitchen room under study
Figure 4: The WL of radon gas in the kitchen room as a function of location under study in Kurdistan Iraq
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Health and the Environment Journal, 2012, Vol 3. No 3
Indoor radon activity concentrations were
measured in the kitchen of 30 dwellings in the
Kurdistan Iraqi region, and the results are listed in
Table 1. The radon concentration was found to be
high in Sedakan city and low in Dukan city. The
radon levels in the kitchens varied from 99.947
Bqm-3 to 360.112 Bq m-3, with an average activity
value of 187.215 Bq m-3. The indoor radon levels
WL varied from 10.805 Bq m-3 to 38.931 Bq m-3.
The indoor radon levels were within the acceptable
limits of the International Commission on
Radiological Protection. However, the levels in a
few dwellings were above the recommended limits
of the US-Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). The US-EPA states that immediate
intervention is required only if the Radon (222Rn)
concentration is higher than 190 Bq m-3 (the
standard level is between 40 and 190 Bqm-3. No
intervention is required if the radon level is below
40 Bq m-3, indicating that this level is safe for
occupancy (Zunic and Miljevic, 2009).
The highest annual effective doses calculated in 20
mL of female urine samples was 9.0748 mSvy-1 in
Sedakan city, and the lowest annual effective dose
was 2.518 mSvy-1 in Dukan city. The annual mean
effective dose was 5.1633 mSv in the kitchen that
had the limit of the recommended action level, i.e.,
3–10 mSvy-1 (Narula et al., 2009). The highest
radon concentration levels were found in kitchens
with the poorest ventilation (one door and one
window).
Conclusion
The distribution of indoor radon concentration in
Iraqi Kurdistan is high in many houses, and it
affects the fertility of the women residing there. In
Sedakan city, the highest radon concentration and
annual effective dose calculated in 20 ml of female
urine samples were 360.112Bq m-3 and 9.0748
mSvy-1, respectively. In Dukan city, the lowest
radon concentration and annual effective dose in 20
ml of female urine samples were 99.947 Bq m-3 and
2.518 mSvy-1, respectively. The high levels of
uranium in some regions pose danger to public
health. Most health risks came from the alpha
particles that were deposited in the body.
Therefore, the environment needs to be as secure
and safe as possible. Unfortunately, the high levels
of uranium in some regions endanger the health of
the public.
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